Lab Partner
by BaagelScribbles
Summary: When Peter is paired up with a girl he doesn't know well for a project, he doesn't know what to think of her. She is sweet but he couldn't help the feeling in his gut that something is off with her. It isn't until he finds out what's been happening to her that he fully understands her. Peter Parker x OC. Rated T for mentions of abuse.
1. The Brain

**I had to revise this to an OC story to keep it in the guidelines. In other websites like Wattpad and Tumblr, I have the same story up with the original reader-inserts if you would prefer something like that.**

 **However, I did not want to have this story completely unavailable for you all so I decided to revise it.** **Thank you all for your patience and understanding! Also, special thanks to those who let me know the rules about reader-inserts, I owe you one.**

 **Also, please understand that I don't want to glorify or make light of abuse. If you or someone you know is being treated like this, please tell someone.**

 **Anyways, enjoy~**

* * *

The old clock that was hung lazily above a doorway, that had painfully noticeable chipped purple paint, of an indifferent science classroom said it was three minutes until the bell would ring for yet another round of classes to begin. The thought of the second to last class of the day made practically every sophomore in the high school groan and hang their heads in utter defeat. Lunch had just concluded and now they were expected to behave perfectly once again; how could it possibly get even more draining for the poor students? The end of school was yet to come, and it had felt like they had been at the school for forever. Some students pretended to be sick to escape school; some of which going so far as to using their gag reflex to throw up. Others decided to just deal with it, and either way, they all endured it, the day had been a long one for students everywhere in New York City.

The science room itself was really nothing special whatsoever. The sand-colored walls were aligned with sinks and cupboards that no student ever used properly, despite the teacher's efforts. Cheap and cringe-worthy posters around the room tried desperately to make the room look less like a lifeless hellhole but failed miserably. No carpet was present like in regular classrooms; instead, it was just regular tiles that you could find out in the hallway. Not a single desk could be found for a student in the science classroom. Instead of desks, there were dark-colored, wooden tables that could fit only two people (Yet students always tried to squeeze in more even though it was against the rules). The teacher was the only one with an actual desk but this one had a long table placed right next to it for demonstration purposes. Behind it was a whiteboard that was as blank and boring as the faces of the students who entered the room for class.

Not a single student made much noise as they plopped down into their seats, eager for the school day to finally end and allow them to go home. It was a Thursday, so they still had to deal with one more day of torture then they were free for two whole days. As the seconds on the clock silently ticked on, more students piled into the classroom and sat down at their assigned tables silently. Only a few students spoke to one another, speaking about whatever was bothering them about this class in particular. It was an extremely underwhelming sight, at best. A minute to the bell and one more sophomore entered the classroom. He stood at a pretty average height for his age, not too tall and not too short. The student's brown, wavy hair was lazily combed out of his face and the edges of his lips puffed out like he had a frog trying to escape out of his smooth lips. The boy kept his head down as he made his way towards his table to take a seat. He was wearing a grey sweater and blue jeans, not exactly interested in standing out.

"Ah! Peter, so nice to see you," Mr. Benson smiled lazily at him after Peter sat down at his table and set his things down. He sat next to an attractive girl who was frantically trying to finish up a text message underneath the table without being noticed by the teacher.

"Uh, yeah… thanks," Peter blurted awkwardly, realizing it's been three days since he'd actually attended this class. His role as Spider-Man had not been too kind to his school attendance lately, but Peter was desperately trying to turn that around. Tony Stark wouldn't allow him to skip school often and become a dropout. It used to bug the crap out of him, but Peter had changed a ton in his sophomore year.

The teacher gave him a quick nod before looking back at his computer screen. The class was silent once again as he typed with unbelievable speed on his desk computer, not even having to look down at his hands. After a minute or two of bitter silence, Mr. Benson finally finished with what he needed to get done. He got up from his semi-comfortable but a little squeaky desk chair to stand behind the table next to his desk. He rested his hands on the wooden top and leaned on them with an amused look on his bearded face.

"Now class," he began, "as some of you may have heard, we have a very big, very important, project coming up soon that I have yet to explain to you all. Well, I suppose today is your guys' lucky day," the class groaned obnoxiously and he ignored them, "you will all get started on it as of today. Each of you is going to work extra hard to make a diagram on a poster board explaining a certain part of the human body. This ranges from organs to muscles, as long as it's part of the human body, it's fair game. I expect lots of detail on whatever subject you will be getting. And remember, I have to grade a whole lot of these so _please_ make it look just a little bit unique and interesting to look at. Keep in mind that you'll be docked points if you don't make it colorful and neat. You have until next Thursday to complete it all, and it is worth 80% of your grade so make sure it's your very best work."

A scrawny boy in the front of the classroom raised his bony hand hesitantly.

"Yes, Justin?" the teacher called with a warm but obviously forced smile.

"Will this, by any chance, be a group project?" he asked shyly.

"Great question, Justin!" Mr. Benson nodded, "You will all be working in groups of two for this particular assignment. No groups of three allowed, we have an even number of students."

Peter's head (Along with many others) perked up at this bit of information. He forced himself not to look over at his best friend, Ned, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room. However, he could still feel his friend's eyes land on him.

"Don't get too excited, guys." The teacher chuckled, "I have already picked who you will work with."

The class groaned again, their hopes vanishing into thin air.

"I have also already picked the part of the human body you will be assigned to-Ms. Nelson, let's unplug, shall we?"

The girl sitting next to Peter huffed in defeat and put her phone on the table, face down. Peter furrowed his brows in slight disappointment, usually, the girl next to him tends to say something rude at Mr. Benson in return for making her get off her phone. He figured that there must be a first for everything...

"Alright, let me inform you all on your assigned partner and what you'll be doing for the project. I am giving you the rest of the class period to work but don't make me regret that merciful choice. Anyways, here are your guys' partners and subjects: Kendal and Quincy, you two have the bladder… Ned and Justin, you have lungs… Jerica and Ben, you guys have bones… Allison and Peter, you have the brain…"

 _Allison?_ Peter thought as his eyes searched around the room for her. He wasn't really familiar with her, hardly at all. From what he could gather though, she seemed pretty intelligent. Peter wasn't exactly sure yet. He had her in a few of his classes before, ever since middle school. But he'd never really talked to her directly before. She always seemed quite reserved and kept mostly to herself. Yeah, she had a few friends and everything, but it was a very small and tight group of people. Peter knew he couldn't judge her for it, because he was basically the same way. She had short and blonde hair that looked perfect against her pale and narrow face shape. Her blue eyes shimmered in the light beautifully. She was wearing old-looking black jeans, a black and white striped shirt, black boots, and a ripped jean jacket. Peter bit his lip, looking away from her. How come he hadn't noticed how gorgeous she was before? Peter frowned, figuring it was because before a few months ago, he couldn't stop taking his eyes off Liv.

Her eyes searched for Peter as well, the awkward tension between them slowly rising once she found him. Allison slowly got up from her seat, Peter still avoiding her gaze as best he could. Quickly grabbing her notebook and folder, she walked over to where Peter was sitting. The girl who was next to him before had left to "work" with her partner, allowing Allison to be able to sit right down next to him. She kept her eyes down on the floor and didn't say a single word to Peter. Her shoulders were tensed up and she was playing with her fingers underneath the table nervously. Peter kept biting his lip, feeling just as awkward as she did.

"H-hey umm, so we have both the brain together, right?" he attempted conversation with her, holding his breath.

She nodded sheepishly and chose not to look at him still, "Yes, I believe so…" Allison's voice was soft, barely even a whisper. It sounded sweet, yet at the same time, a broken shell of how it used to sound. He may not have talked to her much before but he knew what she sounded like. Peter did his best not to judge or make assumptions about it but it unsettled him quite a bit. There was something definitely bothering her. He wondered what had made her look so down, hoping whatever it was, he wasn't the cause of it.

"I thought that maybe what we could do," Peter cleared his throat and straightened himself up a little, "We could make a big chart with a brain at the center and all around it could be information explaining it? Not very creative, I know, but we can modify it and make it look prettier later. Just for right now... I want to just focus on getting the right information is all... do you agree?"

Allison nodded, "Sounds good to me… I draw a lot, I-I could make us a brain. Unless you wanted to use a picture instead of a drawing?"

"Works for me," Peter shrugged with a little smile, "I am sure you're a much better artist than I could ever hope to be."

The two immediately got to work. Peter flipped through his notes and highlighted information that he believed, would be essential to use in the project. The class had spent a decent amount of time dedicated to the brain, so information on it definitely wasn't scarce which was really convenient for them. While he worked on that Allison, on the other hand, began to look up good references of the brain on her phone to copy. She opened to a blank page of her green science notebook and got to doodling. She refused to just draw a brain on the poster first try; it wouldn't be a smart idea. She figured it would help to have some experience with it beforehand.

As she worked, Peter couldn't help but peek over her shoulder to look at her progress. She was already working on her second drawing of a brain when he looked over at the notebook but even the first one looked amazing. His eyes widened, as he was just a little jealous of her talent. He always wished he could draw, but it definitely wasn't ever going to be something he was good at; not even a little bit. He didn't have the steady enough hand or patience for such a thing in the first place. He couldn't help but admire that Allison seemed to have those traits. Peter took time to notice the intense look on Allison's face as she drew. She stared at the paper, making sure every mark and every stroke of the pencil was absolutely perfect. Pink shavings from the eraser were spread all over the paper and table. She suddenly stopped drawing, abruptly dropping her pencil on the wrinkled paper.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. Peter got so caught up in watching her draw that he hadn't even noticed that he had begun to stare over her shoulder. His face turned a light shade of crimson and he moved away from her a bit.

"Oh I-I uh," he started to explain weakly, "I'm really sorry. I-It's just, you're really good at drawing is all..."

Her eyes flickered with slight shock at his sincerity, "Hmm, well… thank you so much, Peter. But please don't look over my shoulder..."

He nodded understandably, still feeling embarrassed about bothering her like that.

"It's really important to me that we get an A on this assignment is all," Allison shrugged, looking back down at the notebook and sighing softly.

"Need to raise your grade?" a brow flew upwards on Peter's face, "Makes sense."

The girl sighed and didn't look up at him, "I wouldn't _dare_ to ever bring it any lower than a perfect A."

With that, she went straight back to working on the drawings, and eventually, Peter looked back at his notes to work as well. The two sat in bitter silence right up until the bell rang. "See you later, Peter," Allison mumbled before gathering all of her supplies and retreating out into the hallway, quickly disappearing in the sea of high schoolers. Peter sighed and attempted to get all of his notes back in order as fast as he could. Ned soon walked up to Peter, ready to leave the classroom, with a small frown on his curvy face.

"Hey Pete," he said as he scratched the back of his head in frustration, "Justin is absolutely ridiculous. For thirty freaking minutes of working, he thought we were researching the liver, not lungs. What a waste of time, honestly. How was Allison?"

Peter hesitated and then shrugged, "I'm… not entirely sure, to be honest. She seems really nice but Allison also looked… _off_ for some reason. I hope everything is alright with her..."

"Hmm… I've got her in my history class. She always looks so stressed and quiet whenever I glance over at her every now and then. I tried to talk to her and be kind one day when we had extra work time. She was very nice to me but it was as if she was on edge the whole time." Ned remembered as the two walked out of the classroom.

Sighing, Peter decided to drop it for now. After talking with Ned for a minute or two, he separated from him and walked through the crowded halls to reach his final class of the day by himself. While he walked, Peter noticed Allison practically curled up over her phone as she stood in front of her locker. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes were glossy, without any sign of emotion as she looked down at the screen. But what was most interesting to him, was that the girl's hands were violently shaking and desperately trying to type something on the phone.

The bus ride home for Allison was insanely noisy but by far was one of her favorite times of the day. Sure, there was a ton of people screaming cuss words at the bus driver from the back of the bus and a couple of girls was giggling obnoxiously in the front, but it was probably the most enjoyable part of her day. She was free from school for the rest of the night and she wasn't home yet either, it was really relaxing for her, to be honest. The noise was mostly drowned out by her headphones anyways. She chose to sit by herself, leaning against the side of the bus and looking out the window. It had rained just that morning so everything was wet and saturated in grey. Clouds in the sky still covered up the sun from view.

The bus made a very abrupt stop at a street corner, making everyone on board jerk forwards. Allison fought back the urge to roll her eyes at some of the boys in the back who nearly fell over from the stop; it was their entire fault for standing up on the seats the whole ride. She swiftly walked down the aisle of the vehicle, wanting to get off the bus as quick as possible. She was the only one getting off at this stop and she didn't want to waste anyone's time by taking forever to leave. She jumped off the last step onto the ground and quickly moved away from the bus to let it leave her standing on the side of the street corner all alone, watching it disappear down the street. Her head cranked to her left of her, Allison's blonde hair moved perfectly against the slight breeze in the air. She forced her legs forward, towards a house that her gaze was fixed upon. It was an ugly tan color, while the trim and roof was a dark brown. The lawn was mowed to perfection and the grass was a healthy but a puke green color. The garage door was left open to very obviously show off the two very expensive looking cars parked inside and the fact that the garage looked just as taken care of as the inside of the house. It was easily the most sickeningly perfect looking house in the whole neighborhood.

Allison's shoulders tensed when she moved past the two cars, trying her best not to even breathe on them. She didn't even let herself relax when she reached the door and opened it slowly. Allison then closed it behind her as quietly as she could after entering the house. The entryway was very simple yet sophisticated and kept spotless, exactly like the rest of the house. The walls were painted a gloomy blueish-grey color that matched the clouds outside and the floors were wooden, as well as a dark brown color. She held back a heavy sigh as she hung up her coat neatly in the closet by the front door, closing its doors when she was finished.

"Allison?" her mother called to her from the kitchen, "Is that you, hun?"

"Yes," she said, trying her best to hide the attitude in her voice.

"Yes, _who?_ " her mother raised an eyebrow as Allison walked up the stairs to the living room and kitchen.

"Yes, mother…" she corrected sheepishly.

"Fix up your confidence and it'll be perfect hun." her mother said sternly, "I am already upset with you for making a grammar error in the text you sent me earlier today."

Allison simply nodded and then turned away from her mother. She set her backpack down gently on a chair like she did every day and sat down on the couch to rest for a while.

Her mother stopped working in the kitchen to look at her, "Do you have any homework, hun?"

She thought about it for a moment then answered her, "I have an important project due next week; I believe I mentioned it to you before because my friend told me about it early. It's for my science class. I have to make a poster on the human brain."

"Hmm, I remember you telling me." Her mother nodded with only slight satisfaction but then it quickly faded away, "Then I suggest you get going on it instead of wasting precious time, hun."

"You know I would, mother." Allison tensed up only a little, "However, it's a group project. I-I have to do it with a partner-"

"What did I tell you about stuttering?" her mother snapped.

"It doesn't portray the ideal-"

"Confidence!" her mother screamed at her and threw her hands up in the air, causing Allison to flinch, "My God! You are hopeless!"

The room was completely still for a moment and Allison relished in the silence it for as long as she could. But then it was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. A tall man with carefully combed hair stepped in, closing the door behind him. He swiftly hung up his jacket and walked up the stairs. Soon, he was standing in front of Allison and her mother.

"What is going on?" he asked his voice calm and collected.

"Our daughter is hopeless…!" Allison's mother sighed dramatically, rubbing her forehead, "First she makes a grammar error in a text message. Then, she comes home telling me she cannot work on her science project, stuttering like a dumb, young child!"

Her father frowned, his face turning a little red from anger, "What? Allison, what do you mean you cannot do your work?"

"It's a partner project, dad. I can't work on it at home, I would otherwise but-"

"And you don't have her number?" he crossed his arms.

"No, I don't have Peter's number…" Allison shook her head.

"Peter?" both her parents spat.

"Mr. Benson picked our partners for us, I don't know him." Allison said quickly and cautiously, "I will get his number tomorrow to see if we can work on it together over the weekend."

Her father moved closer to her, and spat out, "You better, or else."

Allison nodded, rubbing the side of her cheek. It was still a little sore from the last time her father had gotten upset with her…

"Good girl." he sighed, "Just do not forget! You are a Westbay so that means a perfect score on anything and everything."

Allison huffed and nodded, looking down at the ground.

"Hey, focus girl! You will not give me that attitude, you understand!? You are a Westbay and you must carry that name loud and proud!"

"What if I don't want to...?" it wasn't a question, more like a thought that managed to slip out of Allison's lips. If she could've helped it, she would have. But the words managed to escape her lips and it was far too late to take it back.

Her mother gasped, covering her mouth in shock and her father's face turned menacing in merely a second. It was all in slow motion for Allison at that point on. She saw her father raise his hand as usual, but this time, it was different. It wasn't just a slap like it always had been, no, her father's hand was curled up into a fist. Next thing she knew, there was an explosive pain on her left jaw and she was falling to the ground. Her ears were ringing loudly and all she could hear was, "Go to your room! I don't want to see you out of there until tomorrow morning!" But Allison couldn't move, she couldn't even see anything. The shock of the blow to her face was still too strong for anything to really make sense at the moment. She saw some motions from her father but didn't understand what he was doing. She did once she felt a tight grip around her ankle, and he began to pull her out of the living room. Her father hauled her to the doorframe of her bedroom, kicking her inside. Allison saw him yell something she still could not hear and then slammed the door, leaving her alone to sit in pain.

* * *

 **Hello everyone, it is me, BaagelScribbles. I trust y'all are having a swell day~**

 **Oh, a cliffhanger!** **Don't worry though, I'll make a part two and it'll be out as soon as possible, my friend. So if you liked this story, please be sure to check that out when it comes out!**

 **I love angst stories, so much! They can be super interesting and really bring out that "evil side" of an author (You know exactly what I'm talking about). This is also my very first fan fiction with Peter Parker, so yay! I love Tom Holland so much and I cannot wait to see _Spider-Man Far From Home!_ Anyways, I just got this idea in the middle of lunch one day and I've been working on it since then.**

 **If you enjoyed my writing review or private message me with a request!**

 **:3**

 **\- BaagelScribbles**


	2. Discovering the Truth

Allison felt quite dumb for hoping that her face wouldn't bruise from what happened with her father the night before. She kept on trying her best to stay positive despite the circumstances but her efforts were ultimately left in vain. The next morning she woke up with an awful headache and a disgustingly purple jaw. _Great, this is just perfect! What am I supposed to tell the people at school?_ She thought, barely paying any attention to herself while getting dressed for the day. Feeling a little lazy about how she looked, the sophomore threw on a grey hoodie with a worn-out Pepsi logo. She put on black baggy sweatpants, converse and then put her blonde hair into a messy ponytail with a purple scrunchie. Her parents hated the way she dressed but it was the one thing in her life that they had no control over. She had to admit, it was a nice change.

She slowly opened the door to her room, seeing the outside of her little safe haven for the first time since her father lost his temper and took it out on her face just only a day before. Allison wasn't entirely sure if her father truly was serious about her staying put all night but she wasn't going to try her luck just to find out. It was painfully quiet in the house, as her mother made bland-tasting waffles in the toaster and her father was already chowing down on a small stack himself. The two were in the kitchen, both of them completely calm. They didn't give their daughter a glare or even a passing glance when she walked into the room. She didn't dare speak of something first. Instead, she opted to make herself a little bowl of cereal for breakfast to keep herself busy. She didn't even want to ask her mother if she could have some waffles to eat. Her parents refused to ever let her drink coffee in the morning (Even though they drank it themselves), no matter how worn out she truly was in the morning. As she made her bowl of cereal, she could feel her father's intense stare on her back. She made sure to do everything just right, not in the mood to start another fight this early in the day. To her relief, he didn't say anything to her, even when she sat down across from him at the polished kitchen table to chow down.

Her mother, however, was a completely different case.

"Good morning; you remember what you are supposed to do today, _hun?_ " Allison hated when her mother called her that. It gave off the impression that her mother actually cared about her, or at the very least, enough to give her a nickname. True, things between her and her mother never got physical like it did with her father but it definitely was verbal. Her mom had no problem whatsoever with displaying how she disapproved with almost everything she said and did. Plus, her mother had no problem instigating her father further into anger against her.

Allison nodded, "Yes I do, mom. I will have to ask Peter for his number so we can work out time to do our project outside of school; to ensure we waste no more valuable time."

Her mother smiled in satisfaction, "Good girl."

"Ha! _Good girl…_ " her father shook his head. Then he looked up at his daughter after swallowing a mouthful of waffles, "Is this... Peter boy smart?"

Allison bit her lip and shuffled around in her chair, obviously getting very uncomfortable, "Err, yes I believe so. I haven't talked to him much, but I think I remember hearing that he is one of the smartest people in my grade."

"He's an intelligent boy, huh?" her father chuckled, "I must meet him, then. When you study with him this weekend, have him come over here. I want to see if he truly is as smart as you say. Plus, then we can keep an eye on you two so much better."

Allison raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by what her father was implying.

"Oh relax!" her mother scoffed, "We wouldn't ever let her do something like that! I don't care how smart he is, Allison couldn't ever do such a thing in _high school._ "

"Oh I know who our daughter is, the kind of girl she is!" her father spoke as if Allison wasn't sitting right in front of him, "She is rebellious and unpredictable."

Allison finished her bowl of cereal fast and abruptly stood up from her wooden chair. As she went to clean her dishes she couldn't help but really think about what her parents were talking about right in front of her face with little consideration to what she might think of it. Yes, Peter was quite sweet, yes, Peter was kind of cute and yes, Peter was admirably smart. But how could her parents honestly think this was not inappropriate to discuss, especially right in front of her? The more she thought about it, with Peter of all people, the hotter her face began to feel…

She looked at the digital clock attached to the silver oven, warning her it was almost time to leave for school. _Thank goodness…_ Allison thought, sighing in relief. She politely pushed past her mother to climb down the stairs into the entryway. Throwing her coat over her, she ran back upstairs to grab her backpack, only to run right back down. She opened the door to the garage and yelled, "I will see you later."

"Goodbye, hun!" and, "Don't lay a finger on my car!" was heard from up the stairs before Allison closed the door behind her.

* * *

Walking into science class on the particularly gloomy Friday afternoon, Peter's mind was moving a hundred miles an hour. He had not given the huge science project much thought due to his surveillance as Spider-Man the night before. His mind did wander back to Allison often, wondering what was up with her but it never led to anything important. Now that it was time for class, he realized he should have spent more time thinking about what to do for their poster. This was a pretty big project and he'd hate to cause her grade to suffer because his head was in the clouds the whole time. He plopped down into his seat, the girl sitting next to him was on her phone, as she usually was. Peter's head turned towards Allison's desk, only to find it empty.

The bell rang loudly, and Mr. Benson went to close the door with still no sign of Allison anywhere. Peter sighed, not thinking he'd have to work by himself the whole hour. _At least now I don't have to worry about upsetting her today…_ he thought, sighing. Shifting his attention over towards the front of the room, where Mr. Benson was standing behind the table next to his desk.

"Alright, class I would like to- _Ms. Nelson,_ what did I say about using your phone in class?"

The girl next to Peter sighed overdramatically, putting her phone down onto the table, "That consistent phone time causes your brain to rot. Mr. Benson, we all don't _need_ a PSA right now."

A few people chuckled at her comment and Mr. Benson tried hard not to roll his eyes at the girl. "Yes well, anyways-" he started but then he got cut off by the door opening. Everyone's attention moved over to Allison standing in the doorway, clutching onto her science notebook and folder. Eyes quickly darted to her jaw where a large purple and black bruise was very visible. Whispers around the classroom rose as she began to make her way towards her chair on the opposite end of the classroom. " _My God…_ " the girl next to Peter muttered as Allison tried her best not to look even more uncomfortable than she already was. Peter's eyes narrowed with a mixed feeling of worry and shock. His eyes met Ned's, who looked just as dumbfounded as Peter did.

Mr. Benson cleared his throat, "Have a pass, Ms. Westbay?"

She shook her head "no."

Mr. Benson sighed in slight disappointment and then turned towards his desk to type something. Allison's shoulders fell; she hoped desperately that her parents never found out that she was late to class. She kept her eyes down at the tabletop, forcing herself not to look up at the students who were still looking curiously at her jaw. The girl sitting next to Allison bit her lip, holding back the obvious question that seemingly everyone wanted to ask her. Thankfully, Mr. Benson finished up his work on the computer quickly and stood back up behind the desk once again.

"Alright everyone, I want to give you all time today to work on your projects." He started loudly, gaining mostly everyone's attention, "Please go meet up with your partners and get working. Chop chop!"

With that, loud noises erupted from the class as people fought for seats and angerly tried to remember what they were supposed to do for their posters the night before. Keeping her head down, Allison grabbed her things and walked over to Peter's table to sit down next to him.

"Hey, Allison…" he started awkwardly, "If you don't m-mind me asking-"

"It's nothing, Peter." She said sternly, "I don't want to talk about it. Everyone's been bugging me about it all day."

"Hmm, alright… I understand."

She knew Peter was still very curious about it, but she really couldn't tell him what had happened. The things her father would do if she was telling people how he _disciplined_ her. But that made her remember, "Oh Peter… could I, maybe, have your phone number? My p-parents… my parents would like me to work on it as much as possible and they said you could even come over to my house if you could…"

Peter perked his lips up in thought, "Sure, I can come over tonight after school if that's alright. I really don't have anything planned at the moment."

"Let me ask my mother, then." Allison smiled only a little bit.

' _Could Peter come over after school today to work on our project?_ ' she typed, careful to not say anything that would possibly upset her mother.

A brief moment of awkwardness passed through the two of them. Peter shuffled through his notes, forcing himself to stay busy as he waited for Allison's mother to answer her. Allison stared blankly at her phone, waiting impatiently. Her mind wandered to the inappropriate conversation her parents were having earlier that same day. She bit her lip hard, feeling the warmth creep back up onto her face and shifted around in her seat. Then her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts.

' _That is f_ _ine, have him come right after school. Stay in the living room when you guys work, though, hun._ ' Her mother replied.

' _Thank you, mother._ ' she replied, then she set her phone back down on the table.

Allison cleared her throat and getting Peter's attention, "You may come over."

Her voice was rough and was shaking slightly as if she didn't even want him to come over.

"I can always come over later if… when you're not busy. I would hate to be a bother." Peter tried.

"No, it is fine, really. I just… I'm not used to having someone over at my house, that's all." Allison shrugged. It wasn't a lie; she was never allowed to have her friends over. Not even to help her study for something. "You can just ask us for help. You'll just get distracted." her parents would scoff, and then drop the subject at that.

"Oh well," Peter scratched the back of his neck, "I hope it's not too weird for you." he looked down at his feet, his eyes moved at a thousand miles an hour. Despite the nervous edge added to the tone of his voice, it was still very soft and gentle. He really was trying his best to emphasize that he didn't want to push her out of her comfort zone too much.

"It will be fine… I promise." she smiled weakly.

Working together in silence for the rest of class, a new form of tension grew between them; a tension that they could not ever describe. Peter would shoot a glance over at her at random and Allison would simply pretend not to notice it. She would ask to see his notes, and for once in his life, someone didn't ridicule his handwriting or make fun of the way he took notes. He was taken aback by how sweet she actually was after opening up to him just a little bit. It was a small step, but it was enough to peak Peter's interest a little bit. After almost a full hour of work, the bell rang obnoxiously, as if it was trying to pull them apart. Instead of rushing to gather her things like the day before, Allison got her stuff together rather slow. Peter copied her pace, wondering who would have to say goodbye first.

"Well, umm, I guess I will see you after school…" she said, almost breathlessly.

"Yeah, I can meet you at your locker." Peter smiled helpfully, which Allison sweetly returned.

His eyes widened slightly, as they stood by the table, unapologetically staring into each other's eyes. Allison's lips parted a little, the unsureness of the situation plastered all over her face. As if he was a tidal wave crashing over her shores, every thought of her parents' cruelty was washed out of her brain. The one and only thing that was on her mind was who was standing right in front of her; Peter also not showing any sign of thinking about anyone or anything else other than her either.

" _Hey? What's wrong with you two?_ "

Peter and Allison snapped out of their trances, looking over at Ned. It seemed to her that he appeared out of nowhere and the realization that she was just gawking at Peter for a whole minute, caused her face to turn a very bright shade of pink.

"I'll see you later, Peter," she mumbled, keeping her head down as she moved past Ned and out the classroom door into the hallway. Peter's eyes followed her figure until it disappeared completely in the ever-growing crowd in the hall.

"Oh, now I see what's going on…" Ned grinned smugly at his best friend.

"What? No-wh-what are you talking about?" Peter stuttered as the two began to walk out of the classroom.

"When you asked about her yesterday I thought you were just curious. Now I understand what's really happening here." Peter gave his friend a confused look, " _Dude, you have a crush on Allison._ "

Peter's mouth hung open as if he was surprised at this bit of information himself, "Huh?"

"C'mon Pete, it's painfully obvious. You don't just drool over a girl for a minute and _not_ like her!"

"I dunno man, I-I don't think-"

"Peter, you're being ridiculous." Ned frowned, stopping in front of the doorframe of a classroom on the side of the busy hallway, "Just admit it, man, it'll cause you less stress if you do." Without another word, Ned turned around and disappeared inside the classroom, leaving Peter a flustered mess in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

3… 2… 1…!

 _ **Ring! Ring! Ring!**_

Peter huffed, hastily picking up his notebook and folder from his desk. Racing out the door of the classroom, he was determined to get to his locker as quick as he possibly could. He hated the thought of Allison waiting awkwardly for him to hurry up. Peter couldn't help but wonder if she would forget about them working together after school. Surely she wouldn't… right? The thought made him move even quicker than before; he practically hit the girl next to him with the door of his locker by throwing it open. Shoving his science supplies inside his backpack, he darted off in the hallway to Allison's locker. He was in such a hurry that he paid no mind to Flash, who threw a casual insult Peter's way as he passed him in the hall.

Turning a corner in the hallway, Peter spotted Allison standing patiently by her own locker. Her eyes were searching around the hallway, obviously looking for him in the crowd. He quickened his pace a bit more, slightly annoyed that he still caused her to wait on him despite his efforts. He pushed past someone very tall and next thing he knew, he was standing right in front of her. His eyes widened a little, as they were quite close; the moving crowd behind Peter practically shoving him closer towards her. Wonder glowed in her eyes as she looked up at him, suddenly feeling a little less shy then she did earlier.

Ned's voice echoed loudly in Peter's mind, causing him to clear his throat and move his eyes away from hers. "Should we get going?" he asked, his voice sounding much less confident than what he was trying to convey.

Allison nodded, fighting the urge to bite her nails. She started walking first, leading him outside and stopping for a moment to look for her bus. Peter stood by her, suddenly wondering what people are going to think if they see him randomly appearing on her bus. He didn't get to get lost in thought about it because Allison gestured for him to follow her. Peter obeyed and walked along the sidewalk that was still full of teenagers swearing loudly and laughing. Allison jumped from the sidewalk to the parking lot towards a bus near the front of the line.

The bus driver didn't even give Peter a passing glance, and luckily, other high schoolers did not seem to notice him as well. Allison sat down by the window and Peter plopped down next to her, careful to give her space if she desired. "It's about a fifteen-minute drive until," Allison paused for a second, "until we get to my house."

"Ok, sounds good." Peter smiled, ignoring her hesitating the way that she did.

"You… you didn't forget your science stuff, did you?" she asked.

Peter laughed, "No, no! I wouldn't think of it."

She laughed as well and then the bus started vibrating slightly, the engine making a loud noise. The bus started moving out of the parking lot of the high school, no one on board taking notice of Peter's sudden appearance on the vehicle.

* * *

It wasn't until the bus reached Allison's stop where a few people began to notice that Peter isn't necessarily supposed to be there. The large vehicle came to an abrupt stop and Allison stood up from her seat. Peter did the same and walked out into the aisle, where a few curious eyes followed him. Allison _never_ had people over, so she couldn't even begin to imagine what they were thinking when they saw that. Despite that, no one said a word about it and they were long forgotten by the time the two stepped off the bus and onto the street corner. Allison kept her eyes down at the ground, not even looking up at the house they were walking towards even once.

This time, Peter couldn't resist the urge to speak up, "Hey umm… you alright? You seem off."

She peered up at him, her eyebrow slightly raised, "Ye-yeah… yeah, I'm fine."

"I promise I won't be weird around your parents." Peter blurted then took in a sharp breath, "Oh I didn't mean to say it like that… it sounded better in my head, I swear."

Allison giggled, a smile remaining on her face until they were fully up the driveway. Her nose wrinkled slightly when they were in the garage door. Before she could even think of stopping herself, she said instinctively, "Don't touch the cars."

Peter stopped walking, a little surprised by the harsh tone of her voice. He simply nodded awkwardly, then tensed up his shoulders to make sure he wouldn't even get too close one of the cars. She gave him a weak smile before Allison opened the door for him, welcoming him inside. Immediately Peter was hit with the smell of something that was freshly baked from the oven. Allison was quick to politely grab Peter's jacket and hang it up in the closet for him.

"Oh thanks, you didn't have to-"

"Of course I had to." Allison shook her head but added a smile.

She walked with him up the stairs to the main floor, where her mother was hurriedly shuffling around the kitchen. Noticing her daughter and the boy standing awkwardly next to her, she finally stopped what she was doing. Her mother put on her very best, most convincing, lovely smile. "Hello, you must be Peter. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said in a calm and welcoming voice.

Peter fell for it, "Oh well, ah, thank you. It's nice to meet you as well."

Allison bit her lip and resisted the urge to cross her arms, "Did you make something, mother?"

"Yes, thank you for asking, hun." her mother nodded, "I baked a small batch of cookies for our guest."

"Oh wow thank you!" Peter smiled graciously, "You really did have to do that…"

"Do not be silly, you are a guest so it's what I ought to do." She paused then did her best to hide the glare she threw at Allison, "Just don't let those cookies distract you two as you work."

This time Peter caught on, clenching his jaw. His eyes darted to the floor to avoid Allison mom's and then hesitantly, made their way to Allison. She looked at him too, and gave him a weak smile.

"Yeah, we should get to that…" she nodded, turning away and sitting down on the couch. Peter followed suit, silently getting out his things.

Peter wasn't entirely sure what he thought it was going to be like at Allison's house. He certainly didn't think they were going to sit in awkward silence doing work. Allison's mother was sticking to them like glue, barely even taking her eyes off Peter. It was as if he was a bomb that she thought was going to blow up at any moment. Every time he looked up at her she quickly put on a fake smile but he knew it disappeared the moment he looked away from her. Not only that but Allison was tenser than she ever was in class. Alarms were going off in his head, filling with questions he didn't think he even wanted answers to.

The door suddenly burst open, making Allison jump up even more than Peter did. Her mother, on the other hand, did not even flinch. Peter lifted his head from his "storyboard" of the poster to look at a man wearing an expensive-looking suit walking up the stairs towards the living room. He eyed Peter suspiciously, not even looking at Allison.

"Hello, dear." he gave his wife a quick hug before she turned away from him to dart back into the kitchen. He stayed in the same spot, facing Peter and Allison with a blank look on his face. It was as if he was an emotionless robot, scanning Peter up and down for anything to critique. Allison cleared her throat as politely as she could. Her father only moved his head over to her. Peter did the same, thankful that the man's eyes were off him.

"Hello, dad. How was work?" her voice was in the same tone as it was when Peter first talked to her. Calm yet extremely careful, a shell of how it usually sounds. Her voice is normally relaxed and sweet, now it sounded as if she was desperately trying to keep calm at gunpoint.

"Long and arduous." he answered halfheartedly, "As it always is."

"Tomorrow's another day."

For once the man smiled, "That it is, Allison. Is this Peter?"

She nodded warily, "Yes, Peter, meet my dad." Allison gestured towards her father and he frowned at her movement as if it were offensive.

"N-nice to meet you, sir…" he smiled weakly.

"Hmm…" his nose crinkled, "Very frail you are… not much confidence."

"Excuse me?" Peter furrowed his brow.

"And fires back." her father scoffed, "I understand now, how my daughter gets _distracted_ and _disobedient_ now; hanging out with kids like you."

"Dad, please don't-"

"Quiet you!" her father shouted.

A bitter silence, filled with tension, followed after Allison's father yelled. His face was red with building anger, her mother's was blank as if nothing had happened, Allison's showed discomfort and embarrassment, and Peter's was full of shock. His mind was racing with everything that was unfolding before him. Puzzle pieces were landing perfectly into place in his head. The more he thought about it, his eyes blazed with fury.

"The bruise… the bruise on Allison's face…" Peter breathed more confidently, "That was from you, wasn't it?"

"What did you say to me, _boy?_ " her father snapped.

"Peter…" Allison shook her head, her eyes wide.

He gave her a meaningful glance before looking back at her father. His raging eyes were now focused on Peter.

"That bruise on her face, you did that." Peter stood up from the couch, "You did that to her, I know you did."

Her father turned towards Allison and screamed, " _What did you tell him?_ "

Allison pressed herself against the back of the couch. She opened her mouth to say something but no words would come out. Her father started to make his way over to her, but Peter stood in his way. The teenager crossed his arms dangerously and glared at the man. Her father lifted a fist at him and swung it hard at him. Peter didn't even blink; he caught it in his right hand, eyes not even shying away from him. Allison's father huffed, trying to pull his fist away from Peter's grasp. However Peter didn't budge, only gripping onto his hand harder. There was a loud cracking noise and the man's expression went from angry to terrified. He opened his mouth to yell out in pain but then Peter released him. He backed away, where Allison's mother stood in shock.

Peter turned around to face Allison, "C'mon, we are leaving." he reached his hand out to her and she quickly took it. He pulled her up yet he didn't let go of her hand. She could feel her face getting hot again but she forced those thoughts out of her brain for the moment.

"No!" her mother exclaimed, "You-you can't take her away!"

"Don't stutter, _hun._ " Allison spat bravely.

Her mother covered her mouth with her hands and her father bit his lip. Peter gripped Allison's hand tight and led her out of the living room. He looked behind them as they both walked down the stairs. He gestured for her to get her stuff on and she obeyed. He did the same, glaring hard at her father.

"She better be back home soon, _boy._ Or I will call the cops on you." he snarled.

"I think you're the one who'll hear from the cops, sir." Peter frowned, opening the front door. "Thank goodness a police station is only a few blocks from here."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"He is right, dad. I'm sick and tired of living like this… I hate living like this."

"You ungrateful-!"

Peter pushed Allison out the door as her father flew down the stairs after them. They ran down the sidewalk, Peter still holding her hand. They could hear the distant sound of her father running after them, yelling their names furiously. Allison didn't look back at him, despite her fear compelling her to. But Peter's tight yet warm grip on her hand told her to stay strong. They both ran for probably twenty minutes; they couldn't stop yet with her father trailing after them. A few more minutes went by and the sound of his voice was no longer present. Peter and Allison slowed to merely a speed walk.

"I got to get you to a police station soon," Peter said, out of breath.

She smiled weakly, "Thank you, Peter…"

He stopped walking, "Allison… why didn't you tell anyone what was happening to you?"

Her face fell, "Peter I… I was terrified of what my dad would do if…" she stopped, choking back the tears that started to build up in her eyes.

Sadness overtook his features and he slowly raised a hand to push some stray hair out of her face, "It's OK, Allison. You never need to worry about him ever again, I promise you."

"Promise?" she breathed, her cheeks reddening at his soft touch.

Peter smiled at her weakly, turning crimson, "I-I promise…"

Tears fell down Allison's face and she threw herself at Peter. She hugged him close to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hesitated but then embraced her as well, smiling goofily. After a few minutes of hugging, the two reluctantly pulled away from each other's grasp.

"C'mon," Peter smiled, "we should get going."

Allison gave him a whole-hearted, sweet grin in return.

* * *

 **Hello everyone, it is me, BaagelScribbles. I trust y'all are having a swell day~**

 **I am so sorry this took so long for me to finish. This is a pretty long part so I had to spend some time to edit this. However, I will say, I really like writing for Peter Parker. I am definitely going to write more him in the future.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading!**

 **-BaagelScribbles**

 **:3**


	3. Study Hall

Aunt May hurried around the kitchen of the small New York apartment that she so generously shared with Peter. As he stayed locked up inside the comforts of his own room, she hustled around the living room and kitchen. She had cleaned the living room ten times over, absolutely nothing out of place. Her long, brown hair was pulled up into a very loose bun, however, the look on her face was filled with nothing less than excitement and determination. The kitchen was extremely messy, dishes everywhere as well as baking ingredients. However, the smell of baking cookies made the mess quite understandable. The woman's eyes darted over towards the oven clock every single minute that passed, practically counting the seconds as they went by.

 _ **Knock, knock…**_

The knock coming from the front door of the apartment was barely even something that someone could even be able to hear. Aunt May jumped up into the air and practically squealed with pure glee despite the very underwhelming knock from the door. She brushed off her flour-covered pants as best she could before shoving the front door wide open. On the other side stood a nervous-looking Allison, fiddling with the side of her maroon shirt. She gave Aunt May a weak smile.

"H-hello," she said trying her best to sound confident, "Are you… are you Peter's aunt?"

Aunt May shook her head, "Yes, indeed, I am! A pleasure to meet you, Allison. Please, come inside."

Allison hesitated for a moment but Aunt May practically pulled her inside the doorframe. She was instantly hit with the smell of freshly baked cookies and the sound of trash TV playing in the background. "Oh, I am just so excited to finally meet you! Peter has told me so much about you already…" Aunt May blabbered on cheekily, shuffling around in the kitchen.

"Oh, speaking of which," Aunt May turned towards the hallway and yelled, "Peter! Allison is here!"

Not even a second passed when Peter came bursting out of his room at the end of the hall. He was wearing a geeky T-shirt and baggy blue jeans, so honestly nothing new for him style-wise. His hair was quite messy and was lazily left untamed. His face lit up seeing Allison, "Hey! Good to see you..."

Her smile grew a little more confidently, "Hi, Pete."

Aunt May chirped in, "Cookies are almost done in the oven. You two can just… hangout and I'll bring you the snack later."

"Sounds good, May," Peter called, already shoving Allison right into his room.

He politely closed the door behind him with a light clicking sound. Allison carefully put her backpack down on the chair Peter had pulled up by the desk. She pulled out a big math textbook, a little red folder, and a little pencil. The two plopped down next to each other on Peter's bed, trying to make sure that they were comfortable.

"Thanks for helping me with this…" she mumbled, flipping through the textbook's pages.

Peter chuckled with a cheeky grin on his face, "Anytime, really. Be-besides, I like… hanging out with you."

She raised an eyebrow, "Even when we do math?"

"Especially when we do math," Peter laughed.

Allison grinned but didn't meet his gaze. Peter searched her face, trying to meet the gaze of her bright blue eyes again. She did not look up at him, however. Allison continued to stare at the textbook in front of her. Sighing, she frowned and bit her bottom lip hard.

"You alright?" Peter asked.

"Yeah…" she nodded, giving him a weak smile. The smile on her face then quickly faded as her shoulders fell. Allison's eyes wandered away from Peter as they filled up with tears. She shook her head, "No…"

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, leaning a little closer to her and politely setting her textbook aside, "I'm listening."

"It's just-" Allison took a deep breath, "I-I know it's been… it's been a few weeks… b-but I-"

"Allison," Peter said, cutting her off, "you don't need to be sorry for being upset about that. You were _abused;_ you have every right to feel like this. I just… want you to know I'm here for you."

She sniffed, tears starting to fall down her cheeks, "Y-you mean it…?"

He smiled, pushing some of her blonde curls behind her ear, "Of course."

"W-well…" she sighed, "I just, I'm not entirely sure what is next for me to be honest. I don't know how long my uncle will be able to support me all on his own. And since my parents will _never_ give me any funds for college, I don't even know if I will be able to go anymore… my whole life, it was right there in front of me… now, well, I just am not quite sure anymore."

Peter pondered her words for a moment, biting his lip. It had been about two weeks since his discovery of how her parents treated her. Since then she had been living with her uncle while her parents were taken into custody. The situation was tough for Allison but Peter was sure that with enough time and positive thinking, she would be fine. He was willing to help her of course, he just had no clue how to.

Then it hit him.

"Tony Stark…" Peter muttered, his eyes widening.

"Hmm?" she looked up at him.

"T-Tony Stark!" Peter smiled, "I-I had an internship with Tony Stark, remember? I still k-keep in touch with him; maybe… maybe we can work something out on the… college end of the spectrum."

Her eyes widened, "Re-really? He would do that?"

"Tony Stark is a good person… besides; I could maybe strike a deal with him. Maybe you could work for him in exchange for help…" Peter grinned.

Allison bit her lip, "I… I-I don't know… this… wow, that would be the chance of a-a lifetime."

Peter put a hand on hers, "I promise I won't let him rest until he considers it."

She giggled, giving him a small smile and squeezing his hand tight. Peter laughed nervously, wiping away the tears left on her cheeks. Her face flushed at the feeling of his soft fingers lingered on her face before pulling them from her. The heat left by them lingered for a moment before her cheeks, once again, turned cold. Shyly looking down at the floor, Allison kept the sheepish grin on her face, "Thanks, Peter. For, you know… caring for me."

He chuckled, "Well, who wouldn't? Allison… I regret not attempting to get closer to you before that science project. I mean, you've always kind of been there since middle school and yeah I was curious about who you were but I never did anything about it. Maybe if I did, then your parents would have been caught sooner… I really do hate to see you suffer. You mean a lot to me…"

"Peter…"

He looked at her warmly, feeling quite brave for once. He used the hand that wasn't still holding hers to cup her face. Her smile widened from ear to ear. "I-I do care about you…" he said, barely audible.

Allison giggled, "I care about you too, Peter…"

He bit his bottom lip but then chuckled weakly. Gaining a tad bit of confidence from her saying she cared about him, Peter leaned forward and his lips collided with hers. She gasped in surprise but quickly kissed him back. Her free hand moved to the back of his head and played with his hair.

After a few minutes, the two finally separated in need of air. Painting, they both chuckled with big, goofy grins on their cheery faces. Peter leaned in again and leaned his forehead against Allison's. She did the same, cupping his cheek as he held her hips.

"You know… this visit was about doing math…" Peter laughed.

She rolled her eyes, "Screw math, this is more comforting."

"Hmm, well, if you say so."

"What do you mean?" she giggled, "It's totally better! Gosh, you're such a nerd!"

"Mmm…" Peter leaned a little closer to her, "I'm your nerd."

She rolled her eyes but giggled. Letting himself move towards her, she met his lips with hers. This kiss was filled with a little bit more passion, kissing each other with slightly more intensity than the last one. Despite that, in a few more minutes passed before they separated.

"Wait… does th-this mean we're…?" Peter questioned.

Allison nodded, "Yeah… you're my boyfriend…"

"Awesome…" Peter breathed.

She giggled.

 _Knock, knock…_

The hard knock from Peter's bedroom door scared the crap out of Peter and Allison; the two of them jumped up in surprise. The both of them yelled at the same time, "Yeah!?"

"Cookies are ready!" Aunt May called from the other side of the doorway, "I thought they'd be done sooner but they needed to cook more! Come out you two and have some."

Allison grinned and Peter sighed. They pulled themselves from Peter's room to meet Aunt May on the other side of the doorway. She led them to the kitchen where a large tray of chocolate-chip cookies sat on top of the kitchen island. Peter and Allison each took one while Aunt May patiently waited for their thoughts.

"They're wonderful," Allison complemented sweetly, "thank you so much."

Aunt May grinned smugly at Peter, "Oh, she's a keeper!"

Peter rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, anyways… they're good, as always."

"So…" Aunt May leaned her hands against the island, "How's the study hall going?"

"Eh," Peter shrugged, "could be going better. Allison's not terrible at math, though."

Allison rolled her eyes, "Ha! Very funny…"

Aunt May eyed them suspiciously.

"Speaking of which," Peter started, "we should get back to that, actually."

"Yeah," Allison nodded.

"Ugh, then what are you two still standing here chatting with me?" Aunt May shooed them, "Go on and study!"

Laughing, Peter and Allison retreated back into Peter's room. They shut the door behind them, still chuckling at the woman's words and silly attitude.

Peter shook his head, "May… she's so special."

Allison smiled, "You're lucky, Pete. She's sweet."

"You're sweeter."

She fake gagged, "Ugh! Pete, so gross!"

He laughed, "Yeah, whatever. It's true, though, don't even try to deny it."

"Anyways," she sighed, "let's actually get this work done."

"Alright," Peter playfully wined, sitting down next to her on the bed.

* * *

 **Hello everyone, it is me, BaagelScribbles. I trust that y'all are having a swell day!**

 **I'm sorry this took a while but I would have written a lot more this week bit I got really sick. However, now I'm feeling better and I was able to finish the chapter!**

 **Anyways, thank you all for reading!**

 **-BaagelScribbles**

 **:3**


End file.
